When patients are being ventilated mechanically on an intensive-care ward, for example, the patient to be ventilated is connected pneumatically to the respirator by means of a ventilation tube system. Because the breathing gas which is delivered to the patient must be adjusted with respect to temperature and humidity to the physiological needs of the patient, a respiratory humidifier is arranged in the inhalation or inspiration tube to heat and humidify the breathing gas. The breathing gas humidifier comprises a liquid container filled with distilled water in the usual manner; the inhalation gas is conducted through this container, and its moisture content is thus increased.
To prevent moisture from condensing inside the ventilation tube system, the inhalation tube and the expiration or exhalation tube are usually provided with electrical tube heaters, which heat the inhalation and exhalation gas flowing through them during operation. A loop of heating wire, for example, is used, which is integrated into the interior of the inhalation or exhalation tube, or the inhalation or exhalation tube is wrapped in each case with a coil of heating wire.
The breathing gas temperature is usually regulated by means of a temperature sensor arranged near the patient; this sensor is connected by an electrical measurement line to a control unit, which is arranged in, for example, the respiratory humidifier.
Ventilation tube systems of this type are known from, for example, DE 10 2008 039 137 B3; DE 10 2007 003 455 A1; DE 44 41 480 A1; and EP 1 338 297 A1. The disadvantage of these ventilation tube systems according to the prior art is that, in addition to the pneumatic connections of the inhalation and exhalation tubes to the respirator, respiratory humidifier, and the Y-piece on the patient, it is also necessary to connect the electrical lines for the tube heater and the temperature sensor, which are present as loose, independent cables and which must be connected independently of each other. The large number of cables and tubes to be connected leads to a loss of time and to the possible confusion of the operator; it also increases the clutter in the patient environment, and the various components are also vulnerable to damage. The use of such loose cables also carries with it the danger that the operator or the patient could become tangled up in them, which, in the worst possible case, could result in the breaking-off of the electrical connection between the respiratory humidifier and the heating wires during the treatment of the patient.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a ventilation tube system which minimizes the number of tubes and electrical lines and their connections, provides a variety of possible ways in which connections can be established, and facilitates establishing both the pneumatic and electrical connections in a single connection procedure.
This object is achieved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous elaborations and embodiments are the object of the subclaims.